Hurriyat holds protest rally during PM's visit

Mirwaiz Moulvi Omar Farooq, chairman of the moderate All Parties Hurriyat Conference, was on Friday detained along with his supporters for staging a protest in Srinagar coinciding with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Jammu and Kashmir.

The Mirwaiz, along with hundreds of his supporters, proceeded immediately after Friday prayers from the historic Jamia mosque in the old city area towards the United Nations Military Observers Group headquarters.

The APHC march was, however, intercepted by the police at Munawarabad area resulting in clashes. The police had to use tear gas and resort to repeated baton charges to disperse the protest rally.

The Mirwaiz, along with several of his supporters, were taken into preventive custody and lodged in Kothibagh police station after the protests.

A flash strike paralyzed life in the old city areas, the stronghold of the Mirwaiz. APHC supporters shouted pro-freedom slogans, and clashes with the police continued till late in the afternoon.